Apparatus for the manufacture of sulfuric acid.



No. 725,427. PATENTED APR. 14,1903. 0. H. ELIEL.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SULFURIG ACID.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1902.

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No. 725,427. PATENTED APR. 14, 1903.

O. H. ELIEL. APPARATUS FUR THE MANUFACTURE OF SULPURIG ACID.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1902.

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OSCAR H. ELIEL, OF LASALLE, ILLINOIS.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SULFURIC ACID.

SPECIFICATION forming'part of Letters Patent No. 725,427, dated April 14, 1903.

Application filed se iemter 24, 1902. Seriall l0.124,62 2. on model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR H. ELIEL, of Lasalle, in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for the Manufacture of Sulfuric Acid, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to the construction of a concentrating and denitrating tower and to the application of the same to the sulfur- IO burners and acid-chamber. As now constructed the denitrating-tower comprises a single large flue with'g'lazed tile or other acid-proof material with interstices through which the acids trickle and the gases :5 ascend. The sulfur-burner is connected with the bottom of the tower and the acid-cham-' her with the top,and the acids to be denitrated are introduced at the top. Thus constructed and arranged the tower cannot work to the best advantage. When the amount of sulfur burned is less than enough to utilize the normal capacity of the tower, the ascending gases do not meet with the required resistance therein and denitration is correspondingly reduced and the temperature in the tower decreased. The ascending gases being lighter than air meet with proportionately greater aerial resistance in the finer than in the coarser interstices of the filling, and con,-

0 sequently are diverted to the coarser ones,

thus leaving large portions of the filling-sur-- faces unused when the tower is running at full capacity. The S0, unites with oxidizing compounds, and the. heat of the ascending 3 5 gases is so great that all of thenitrogen compounds or oxidizing agentsare taken up in the upper portion of the tower'and carried up and out to the acid-chamber, so that no denitration of acid can take place in the lower portion.

V the entire length of the tower.

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connections of'the tower with the burner and chamber or connect the burner with the top of the tower and force the sulfurous gases down through the tower instead of up andperfectly utilized. The nitrogen compounds and the oxidizing agents are introduced at the top of the tower and carried down through the tower with the sulfurous gases, so as to be present therewith for oxidizing, denitrating, and concentrating purposes throughout I propose, further, to provide means for spraying instead of showering the acids to be denitrated and concentrated into the top of the tower.

I have-attained these objects by the tower constructed and arranged as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a top or plan view of that portion of: the apparatus containing my invention. Fig. 2 is a fragment of an enlarged verticalsection, taken on a plane at the line 2 2 Fig. 3 is adetailshowing a detached part in plan View. Fig. .45 is a detail showing a like View of another detached part.

In the drawings, A is the sulfur-burner; B, a branched flue leading from the burner to thesectional tower O, a branch B of the fine running to each tower-section, and D a flue having a branch leading from each of the f towerwsections and connecting with the acidchambe'rE. Itis contemplatedthatthechambet-shall have the usual connection with a Gay-Lussac tower, which is not illustrated, as the invention relates entirely to the construct'ion,relative arrangement,and manner of connection ofthe denitrating and concentrating tower with the burners and acid-chamber.

As shown in the present instance,'thetower G is made in three independent sections arranged in a triangle. at the base, although any plurality greater or less can be used to suit each individual case. These sections may be made of thirty-six-inch glazed sewertiling or any suitable material to withstand the action of the aoid,havingafilling of glazed brick or. other common filling material laid in the usual fashion. Each tower-section rests in a basin 0 for collecting and draining off the acid therefrom. In the bottom of each section is first laid a disk, brick, or plate 0, having recesses c in its edges. On this supporting-bricks c are set up on end with intervening spaces, and upon the bricks a perforated clay plate or disk 0 is placed to support the tile-filling 0. Near the bottom the tower is provided with holes 0 below the acidline and corresponding with the recesses c for allowing the acid to pass out of the tower-section into the basin 0.

The top of each section of the tower is provided with a cover C which fits in gas-tight, and is provided with a liquid seal a at the center, which will overflow inside and allow the nitrated acids poured in through a pipe a to pass into the towers, but prevent the es cape of gas from the same. Below the cover is an acid-separator C in each section of the tower, comprising a perforated plate set with numerous tubes, having nozzles at their lower end for dividing the'ingoing acid into numerous small streams. The separators are placed just above the entrance of the fines B from the sulfur-burner, so that the ingoing acids are showered into the sulfurous gases coming from the burners.

Another way of introducing the acids to be denitrated and concentrated is provided by a pipe 13 which connects with the acid-supply (not shown) and enters through the fiue B, wherein it is bent forward to the entrance-aperture of the tower-section, and is provided with a spray-nozzle b, by which the ingoing acids forced in under suitable pressure are divided into very fine particles, and thereby brought in better contact with the gases, causing quicker action. The acids will also be better carried along with the gases passing down through the tower. The downdraft through the tower may be produced by suction at the bottom effected by any well-known means. D is a fan or blower in the fiue D,

whereby the downdraft through the tower is produced in this instance and the regular draft through the system is maintained. The several branches B of the flue B are provided at each tower with a valve 1), whereby any one or more of the tower-sections may be shut ofi or cut out of the system when less than the full amount of sulfur is being burned or for repairing the tower section by section without stopping the entire plant.

Each separate section of the tower individually attains the results of more perfectly utilizing all the filling-surfaces and of denitratin g and concentrating the acid throughout the entire height of the tower by reason of the downward movement of all the reacting gases, I

compounds, or elements involved.

What I claim is I 1. In an apparatus of the class describeda denitrating and concentrating tower comprising a plurality of independent filled sections, in combination with the sulfur-burner and acid-chamber, valved fines severally connecting the top of the tower with the sulfur-burner, and valved fiues severally connecting the bottom of the tower with the acid-chamber substantially as specified.

2. In an apparatus of the class described a denitrating and concentrating tower, in combination with the sulfur-burner, a fine from the burner connected with the top of the denitrating and concentrating tower whereby the sulfurous gases are introduced into the tower at the top, and means for producing a downdraft through the tower as specified.

3. In an apparatus of the class described a denitrating and concentrating tower, in combination with the sulfur-burner, a flue from the burner communicating with the denitrating and concentrating tower above the filling therein, a fiue from the tower connected below the filling and communicating with the acid-chamber, and means for producing a downdraft through the tower as specified.

4. In an apparatus of the class described a denitrating and concentrating tower provided with a closed top in combination with the sulfur-burner, a fine from the burner communicating with the tower above the filling, and a pipe entering the denitrating and concentrating tower over the filling and provided with a spray-nozzle as specified.

OSCAR H. ELIEL.

Witnesses:

CONRAD J. REINHARD, JOHN T. HOAG. 

